Preheat oven to 350°. Place chicken, veggies, and potatoes in longitudinal rows in a 9x13 inch pan. Slice the stick of butter and place on top throughout the pan. Sprinkle the entire package of Italian dressing on top. Cover the pan with foil and bake for one hour. A simple, easy, and delicious meal!

From Anne Fortunato ’97

“I love the idea of sharing family recipes. My grandfather was a baker, off-the-boat from Bavaria, Germany (ooooooh, the bakery stories my dad told!). My mom is from Spain and shipped us off to spend summers with relatives who took us on tours of vineyards and graciously exposed us to every variety of Tapas, Paella, Manchego cheese, goat milk, Patatas Bravas, Tortilla, Flan, Marcona almonds, Jamon Iberico, Pisto, Turrón, and all things Spain! I can still see the chorizo drying in the markets and taste the fresh (face-sized) shrimp that were drowned in garlic and olive oil. Don’t get me started on the calamari! Unfortunately, the only recipe I have from my German grandfather is for Coconut Bread (thanks to my aunt who printed it in the St. Louis Dispatch where she worked as a writer.) The bread was made as a way to use up day-old loaves during the Great Depression. It sounded more like a dessert and wasn’t fancy at all but it is a connection to a grandfather I never met except through food and stories.

Now with my own father’s passing, food more than ever, has become a link to the past and a bridge to the future for the younger relatives. During the year I took care of my dad while he was in hospice (May 2007-May 2008), cooking became an activity that we could engage in while enjoying each other’s company and not focus on the cancer. It became a time to make new memories that I will cherish always, and I learned that good food is not only nutrition to heal the body but a remedy to also heal the soul through the sweet memories. I learned that food should be life giving but it’s OK to eat your cake too. Every time I pull out a recipe we tried, I am reminded of the joys of family bonding that cooking and baking produces while keeping alive the memories of a loved one. My dad’s spatula still hangs in our kitchen, and my 12-year-old niece Liliana Marie Rose is now a budding chef as well.

“A whole new culinary world has been opened up as well since marrying an Italian-Scotch-Irishman! His (Irish-Scotch) mom’s Apple Bundt Cake taught me that sometimes with baking, less IS more, however, David’s Italian side rebels against recipes and his method of cooking is ‘A little bit of this . . . I need to use those shallots up . . . and a dash of that.’ He never disappoints. ;)

“Here are a few family recipes we have shared over the years. We have a love for seafood here on the Maryland shore (the land of Old Bay Seasoning, lol) but now when I eat (wild Alaskan!) salmon I am fondly reminded of my family as well. Dad’s hobby of travel came to an abrupt standstill due to being bedridden from cancer, but we could always travel through the recipes we made, whether they were German recipes, Italian, old Spanish favorites, or something we whipped up while I lived and worked for several years in Anchorage, Alaska. Some of my best family memories come from this time. Friends, family, and I ‘lived off the land,’ so to speak, and we caught our own salmon and halibut, tapped birch trees in my yard to make syrup (a lovely glaze on fish), picked fireweed that was converted into homemade (PINK!) vitamin C rich jelly, and assisted friends with hunting moose and caribou. I helped my dad catch his first salmon and, even more impressive, got family members who swore they hated salmon to love it. We made salmon blackened, deep fried in a Cajun beer batter, served up in garlic, parmesan, and asparagus foil packs, grilled with brown sugar or bourbon glazes, stuffed with spinach, or even smoked. In our home, we try to eat healthy the majority of the time but when we ‘want to eat our cake too’ and are feeling like being a little bit decadent we serve Dad’s A-OK! Hot Buttered Rum Grilled Salmon (see Franciscan Magazine, p. 19). On healthier days, we serve our Blackened Salmon.”

Mix together spices in an airtight container and shake well. Sprinkle spices liberally over both sides of the salmon fillets. Melt butter or oil in pan over medium-high heat until sizzling hot. Place salmon fillets in pan, skin side up, and cook each side 5-8 minutes. Do not overcook. Salmon will get white pearling on top when it’s done cooking.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Paella

Submitted by Anne Fortunato ’97

8 chicken legs

3 chorizo sausages, cut into 1-inch slices (You can use hard pepperoni as a substitute.)

Marinate the shrimp for approximately one hour. In a large pan, brown the chicken legs and sausages in the olive oil. Add the chopped onions and garlic, brown. Remove the meat mixture from the pan and reserve. Add the rice to the pan and cook slightly until golden and transparent. Add the stock, salt, and pepper. Bring stock to a boil. Dissolve the saffron in the boiling stock. Add meat mixture back in the pan. Cover and cook slowly until the liquid is absorbed by the rice (approximately 30 minutes). Remove the shrimp from the marinade, and add to the rice and meat mixture. Add and arrange (presentation is everything!) the mussels, clams, artichoke hearts, pimentos, peas, crab, and lobster to the rice and meat mixture. Cover and let steam for 20 minutes over low heat (so the rice doesn’t burn). Garnish with lemon wedges.

Cajun Shrimp

Submitted by Anne Fortunato ’97

1 T. oil

1 tsp. paprika

3/4 tsp. dried thyme

3/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 lb. extra large peeled shrimp (tails can be on or off)

Mix oil and spices in an airtight container, and shake well.
Rinse and pat dry the shrimp. Combine the shrimp with spice mixture. Mix until
all the shrimp are coated well. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over
medium-high heat. Cook and stir the shrimp until done, approximately 4-5
minutes.

Lauren’s Cheddar Jalapeño Beer Bread

Submitted by Anne Fortunato ’97

3 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup sugar

12 ounces beer

2 T. butter, melted

1/2 cup cubed sharp cheddar cheese (the cubed cheese will make nice pockets of cheese in the bread)

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 jalapeño peppers, diced

Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter a loaf pan, and set it aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and beer, and mix well. Gently fold in cheese and peppers. The mixture should be sticky. Pour into the loaf pan, and bake for 55 minutes. At the last 3 minutes of baking, remove from oven, brush the top of the loaf with butter, and return to oven to finish baking.

Organic Banana Surprise

Submitted by Joe Wolf ’95

Organic bananas

Organic maple syrup

Organic raisins

Reynolds wrap

A campfire with some good, glowing coals

Take the bananas and cut off the ends. Slice down the middle. Do not remove the peel. Open up a square sheet of Reynolds wrap, and place the banana in the center of it. Stuff the center of the banana with a few raisins. Pour a liberal amount of maple syrup down the center cut. Wrap up the banana carefully, and twist the ends. Throw it into the fire. After 5 minutes, carefully take it out of the fire, and set aside to cool off. After cooling, carefully slice open the center of the tin foil. Grab a spoon and dig in.

Oven Baked Fish and Vegetables

Recipe by Kathleen Yaquinto Submitted by Gary Yaquinto ’76

Cut up green, red, and orange bell peppers

Additional cut up vegetables to taste

EVOO

Dollop of Dijon mustard

Start with a piece of aluminum foil, and curl it
into a bowl. Add some extra virgin olive oil and any fish you would like (cod,
tilapia, salmon, etc.). Add cut up green, red, and orange bell peppers. Add any
other cut up vegetable you would like. Finish off with a dollop of Dijon
mustard. Take the top of your aluminum foil and curl it closed. Bake in the
oven at 375° for 45 minutes, or when you think the fish is done. Very easy,
tasty, and nutritious.

Romaine Lettuce Salad

Submitted by Janet Grimes, Enrollment ServicesMix each step separately and then combine about half an hour before serving.

ABOUT FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY

Franciscan University of Steubenville is no ordinary university, and a Franciscan education is no ordinary education. Rather, it's an education as rigorous and demanding as it is faithful--an education that challenges you intellectually, forms you professionally, and feeds you spiritually.